Author:Alexander Henry Haliday/British Entomology : Hymenoptera

Folio 764. [Allantus flavipes] “I cannot speak with certainty regarding the trophi, not having examined them sufficiently, but I must not omit to notice a remarkable departure from the typical structure, which Mr. Haliday has pointed out to me in a species allied to Selandria, with very short palpi, containing only 5 and joints instead on 6 and 4. Mr. Haliday has only seen the males which he took at Holywood and has named them seminigra, and perhaps Brachythrops may be considered an appropriate generic name”.

Folio 388 [Stilpnus dryadum]. DRYADUM Haliday ‘s Mss Curtis Guide, Gen. 488 289 In the cabinet of Mr. Haliday”. This genus Mr. Haliday says seems more allied to Hemiteles than to any of the other Ichneumonidae, indeed they can only by distinguished by the areolet, or a little difference in the length of the aculeus. The males of Stilpnus and of some species of Atractodes are also very similar. I have not heard of any of the species being bred from the pura, and when my guide was published, one only was known to inhabit these islands but since that period the following have been detected in England and Ireland and I am indebted to A.H. Haliday, Esq., for specimens, as well as the loan of the example figured. S. gagates Grav ……… June and August, Ireland, Mr. Haliday. S.dryadum Hal. Curt. Brit. Ent. pl.388 Black, shining: antennae straw colour at the base, the first joint sometimes with a black spot on the upper side : wings with the stigma and nervules pale brown, yellowish at the base: abdomen in the male with a pale ochreous band at the anterior margin of the second and third segments; female with a broad ochreous stipe down the back of the second, third and fourth segments, a spot at the tip of the petiole (which has a channel down the middle), and the margin of the second segment pale ochreous. Legs ochraceous, tips of tarsi blackish. Obs. Sometimes the abdomen of the female is entirely black and this sex has only fourteen joints in the antennae. Both sexes of this new species were taken in Galway Ireland, by Mr. Haliday. S.blandus Grav. Rare, taken by Mr. Haliday in Ireland.

Folio 399 [Tryphon varitarsus] “Mr. Haliday has discovered two new species, one T. aurifluus (the type of his proposed sub-genus Cteniscus) occurs on willows from July to September, the other he has named T. curtisii, and says, “The only specimen I have seen belongs to the same type as well as T. sexlituratus and about three species besides in my cabinet”. For the following observations I am indebted to the same gentleman and I am sorry I can only give an abridgement of them. “T.varitarsus I have sent a specimen of, to illustrate Gravenhorst ‘s notes on this species: he errs in supposing it the effect of accident; 3 out of 4 specimens occur thus affected. I subjoin extracts from my notes on the subject, with a sketch of the larvae (for such they are, and not eggs) in different stages. The Tryphons occur in August and Sept. on Willows and Ragwort, and I have found as many as 18 larvae attached to one insect: at first they are all of a smooth pear-shaped and shining opaque waxy tint (fig.B); in a few days they appear as represented at C, which is the underside: at this stage its voracious powers develop themselves and I find the oldest generally making a meal of his next neighbour, who is soon sucked to the skin. I observed two motions in the mouth, one an opening and shutting of the mandibles, the other a general dilation and contraction of the membrane of the mouth. Beyond this they show little signs of life while attached to the oviduct, but on being removed, which is easily done without injuring them, the darker ones have a slight jerking motion”. Folio 536 [Pezomachus hopei] “The two that I have bred, P. festinans Fab. and P. vagans Oliv. hatched from the cocoons of two species of Microgaster and with the latter appeared another parasite, a species of Hemiteles, and Mr. Haliday in the Ent.Mag. mentions two, so that 3 or 4 different Ichneumonidae were produced from the same cocoons. The most remarkable fact relating to these little animals is the great apparent excess of females; I have in my cabinet upwards of 20 species and only know the male of one (P. festinans) and Mr. Haliday says he has seen hundreds of the female of P. fusciatus yet he has never met with a male”.

Folio 464 [Mesochorus sericans] SERICANS Haliday's Mss - Curt. Guide, Gen 508. In the cabinet of Mr. Haliday”. “Mr. Haliday has observed to me, in a letter, that this genus affords two strongly marked divisions. 1. With the interior brachial cell of the lower wings emitting a single nervure from its inner angle. 1. M.tipularius Grav. 2 964 332. Curt. Guide 508 332. In larch plantations, Galway. Mr. Haliday. 2. M.splendidulus Grav. Very rare at Belfast but common in Galway. 3. M.olerum Hal. Length 1~a line Black, lower part of face,or bit of eyes, posterior margin of second segment of abdomen, a spot at the base of the third, and the legs ochreous, tips of tibiae and tarsi fuscous. Found on turnips by Mr. Haliday. 4. M.fulgurans Hal. Length 34 lines. Ochroeus, tips of antennae and eyes dark : abdomen ferruginous ochre stigma pallid. Taken in shady ravines in Ireland. 5. M. basalis Curtis ........... 6. M.sylvarum Hal. Length 3 lines. Black, orbit of eyes and mouth pale yellow, mesothorax and scutellum ferruginous the former with 3 black spots and a brownish spot sometimes on the back of the abdomen legs ochreous, tips of tarsi fuscous. Abundant on trees in hedge-rows particularly ash and oak, Mr. Haliday. II Interior brachial cell of the lower wings emitting 2 nervures from its inner angle. 7. M. sericans Hal. - Curt. Brit. Ent. p. 363 ?. Black with a dull blueish bloom, and clothed with pale pubescence; Face and mouth yellow, underside of antennae ochreous brown, an ochreous dot at the angles of the basal joint of the body, and a scutiform spot at the margin of the 2nd and the base of the 3rd of the same colour; the posterior margin of the latter and the tip of the abdomen ochreous: wings stained yellow, the nervures and stigma pale brown: legs ochreous, thighs reddish, tips of the posterior and of their tibiae blackins; posterior tarsi brown, the others brown only at their tips.

Folio 407 [Lampronota crenicornis] In the Cabinets of Mr. Haliday and the Author. crenicornis Hal. MSS – Curtis’s Guide, Gen. 511. Black, glossy, slightly pubescent: antennae simple in the female, geniculated towards the middle in the male, the 5th joint notched on the outside towards the apex and the 6th at the base (1?): head finely, thorax more coarsely punctured: post scutellum and base of the abdomen rugose: ovipositor scarcely so long as the body (6). Wings rich yellowish, iridescent; areolet none, stigma and nervures piceous. Legs reddish ochre, posterior tibiae and tarsi and the tips of the other tarsi brown. In the cabinets of Mr. Haliday and the Author ‘. 14a L. crenicornis Hal. Curt. Brit. Ent. pl. 407 male ‘Mr. Haliday says “it was found from the early part of August to the middle of September, and another species with similar antennae of the same figure etc., occurred in a pinewood : it differs in having the coxae black, the hind tibiae and tarsi dusky and it is larger”. I am indebted to Mr. Haliday for specimens of the remarkable insect figured, and he considers it to be almost osculant between Lampronda and Phytodietus: from the former it differs only in the cleft abdomen of the female and the deep thoracic sutures”

Folio 660 [Euceros albitarsus]

2. Hal. MSS I regret having no description of this insect which was taken I believe in Ireland by Mr. Haliday.

Folio 476 [Leiophron apicalis] In the Cabinets of Mr. Walker, Mr. Haliday and the Author. This genus was established by Nees von Esenbeck - who placed it between Perilitus (which follows Aphidius) and Bracon; and Mr. Haliday in his learned essay on the Parasitic hymenoptera locates it between the same groups. Our Leiophrons are easily distinguished from the other Ichneumones minuti ………………………….” Mr Haliday calls his division A PYGOSTYLUS, of which Crypus sticticus Flab. is the type; it is characterised by “the radial areolet just touching apex of the wing”.” a Abdomen sessile Type L. mitis Haliday ‘s MSS..

Folio 512 [Rogas balteatus] BALTEATUS Hal MSS. Curt Guide Gen 555. Opake ferruginous-ochre, pubescent: antennae longer than the insect, black as well as the head, the hinder part of the eyes ferruginous: Thorax inclining to rufous, black beneath, a black dot on each scapular and a spot of the same colour at the apex of the scutellum; post scutellum coarsely and thickly punctured, black with a bilobed rufous spot behind: abdomen punctured, with an elevated line down the back, the apical portion black, excepting the base of the 3rd segment: nervures brown, base of stigma ochreous: tips of hinder thighs and tibiae and all the tarsi brown, the latter black at the apex. In the cabinet of Mr. Haliday. This genus contains a considerable number of species many of which have been added by Mr. Haliday, who has kindly presented me with several together with a list of them. 10. R. dispar Hal. The sexes are very dissimilar in shape and colour, the male being slender, the female having a white ring round the middle of the antennae which are black, rufous at the base.On larches in Autumn, Mr. Haliday. 3. testaceus Fab. Taken in Ireland by Mr. Haliday as well as No.8. 12. balteatus Hal. Curt. B.E. pl 512 Taken near the harbour of Donaghadee by Mr. Haliday. 8. nobilis Hal “Black, shining, pubescent, mouth collar and legs reddish. Ferruginous, apex of posterior thighs and tibiae, and all the tarsi black; abdomen rugose, rufous, 1st segment with a black spot at the base, posterior portion smooth shining black with golden pubescence”.

Folio 289 [Chaenon anceps] Chaenon Hal. MSS. anceps Hal. MSS. Black shining. Mandibles castaneous, black at the extremity. Postpectus rugose, pilose with a groove down the middle. Abdomen ochreous, with an abbreviated black mark at the base on the back where it is deeply and coarsely furrowed; in the female the superior edge is black towards the apex. Wings iridescent with a yellow tinge. Stigma and nervures brown. Legs ferruginous ochre. Tarsi and tips of hinder tibiae fuscous; in the female the hinder thighs excepting the base, the tibiae and tarsi are blackish. In the cabinets of Mr. Haliday and the Author. Since the genus Alysia was illustrated the present group has been discovered by Mr. Haliday, to whose liberality I am indebted for the species I possess; and Mr. F. Walker has favoured me with his collection, to enable me to arrange and give slight characters of the whole. The species have been taken by the former gentleman in Ireland, from July to September, in moist meadows, and by the latter near Southgate as early as the end of June The length of the antennae is probably only a sexual character, and I suspect the species depart considerably from the type, in the form of the female abdomen, and one is destitute of wings. 1. C. anceps Curt. Brit. Ent. pl. 289. July, amongst long grass in drains. 2. C. gracilis Hal.—Slender, black; legs testaceous, 4 posterior thighs piceous, tarsi fuscous. Nearly as large as No. 1. 3. C. elegans Hal.—Probably a small var. of No. 2. 4. C. viduus Hal.—Black, abdomen piceous, anterior thighs beneath and tips of coxae ochreous. 5. C. obscurus Curtis —Similar to No. 4. but smaller: legs ochreous, 4 posterior thighs and tibiae, except at the base, piceous,tarsi fuscous. 6. C. similis Curt.—Smaller; the legs brighter. 7. C. affinis Hal.—As large, and more robust, than No. 2 anterior thighs and tibiae ochreous. 8. C. fuliginosus Curt.—Like No. 7, with a rufous spot on the body; the anterior thighs and tibiae, and the coxae and tibiae of intermediate legs, ochreous. 9. C. cingulatus Hal.—As small as No. 6: abdomen pale piceous, ochreous in the centre, legs ochreous, thighs and apex of tibiae of 4 posterior and tarsi, fuscous. 10. C. rufinotatus Curt.—More robust, the black and ochre more bright ; antennae, excepting the basal joint, ochreous. 11. C. brevicornis Hal.—Antennas short, ochreous at the base : abdomen piceous, ochreous in the centre : legs bright ochre, apex of 4 posterior thighs, tips of hinder, tibiae, and tarsi piceous. 12. C.apterus Curtis .—The smallest. Wings none. Testaceous; head, extremity of antennae, apex of abdomen, and tips of tarsi, blackish

Folio 383 Aphidius cirsii In the Cabinet of Mr. A. H. Haliday.

These little insects are parasitic, and live in the female Aphides : we sometimes see their horny bronzed cases sticking to the leaves of roses and other plants, with a round hole on one side and the lid frequently hanging like a door on its hinges, as represented in Harris's Exposition, tab. 18. f. 10. from these some of the little Ichneumons or their minuter

destroyers have escaped, for these again have their parasites as we learn from Geoffroy, who states that a Cynips destroys the larvae of the Ichneumon des Peucerons (Aphidius), and from his description I think it may be my Ceraphron Carpenteri (folio 249 2 No. 10), which I there stated had been bred from the Aphides by the late Mr. Carpenter. I am indebted to Mr. Haliday for a valuable monograph containing 19 species of Aphidii ; and Mr. F. Walker tells me he thinks he has about 50. It being therefore impossible to give specific characters of the whole, I shall avail myself of Mr. Haliday's paper, and give his admirable divisions. a Wings with 3 cubital areolets (Div. 1. Nees). Radial areolet terminating at the apex. Head small, rather globose. Antennae shorter than the body of 11 joints in both sexes. Aculeus short compressed, a little curved upwards. aa Wings with one cubital cell effuse to the margin, distinct from the anterior of the disc (Div. 3. Nees). Wings very ample, the radial areolet effuse, including the whole apex. Antennae and legs long and extremely slender. Head small globular narrowed to the back. Palpi long and slender. Mr. Haliday has described 4 species of the first division, and 3 of this, but has given no names, and I have none of them. aaa Wings with the anterior cell of the disc and inner cubital confluent and sometimes both together open to the margin (Div. 2. Nees). Head more transverse than in the other divisions. Radial cell terminating at the apex, its interior nervure often vanishing before the apex. a. Valves of the aculeus compressed, straight or curved upwards, black (Antennae longer in the males, varying in the number of joints, more numerous in the same sex : middle cell complete or open only to the exterior cubital one). This division contains A. Pini Hal., the males taken on the larch in Aug. the females on the Pinus sylvestris in Sept. —infulatus Hal. on the larch in Aug.—pictus Curt, on the Scotch fir, Sept.—dimidiatus Curt.—Rosae, Hal.?—picipes Nees, infests the Aphides of Hieracium ?—fumatus Hal. b. Valves of the aculeus incurved, broad, generally securiform, pale, f Anus beneath unarmed. 1. The middle areolet defined posteriorly. Contains two unnamed species. 2. The middle areolet entirely effuse to the margin (species very minute). Contains two species, and probably A. basalis Curtis’ s Guide. ft Anus beneath in female armed with 2 diverging horns recurved at the end, longer than the aculeus which lies between them. Middle areolet effuse. Antennae in the females of 1 1 joints, rather thicker towards the apex. Contains A. letifer Hal. —A. minutus Curt.—A. constrictus Hal., and another. The insect figured may be the I. Aphidum Linn.: but as the specific name has been converted into one for the genus by Nees ab Esenbeck, I have given it the name of ' Cirsii ' from its being said to be parasitic on the Aphis Cirsii, so named from its inhabiting Cirsium arvense Lam., the Carduus arvensis of this Work, PI. 296. Folio 341 [Galesus fuscipennis]

Galesus Hal. MSS., Curtis.—Psilus Panz., Jur.—Diapria Lat. Antennae inserted on the edge of a large cup formed by tlie projection of the face, very pubescent and pilose, as long as the body, geniculated, filiform in the male and 14-jointed, basal joint the longest curved and angulated on the inside, 2d and 3d joints the shortest and slenderest, the remainder robust and oblong, the terminal joint long and conical (1) : shorter clavate and 12- jointed in the female, the 2d and 3d joints being rather longer than the following, suboval, 4th and 5th ovate, the following moniliform, increasing in size to the terminal joint, which is long and conical (1 a). Labrum} subcordate, ciliated with long hairs (2). Mandibles approximating, rstriform, porrected, long and slightly pilose, bent and pointed at the apex, the inside very much sinuated, with a tooth towards the apex (3). Maxillae externally corneous, terminated by 2 thin semioval plates, lying close together, one producing a series of bristles, the other ciliated. Palpi rather long and slender, attached apparently to a minute scape, 5-jointed, 1st and 2nd joints nearly of equal length, 3d short oblong, 4th and 5th dilated, the former at the apex, the latter is the longest and truncated obliquely (4). Mentum lozenge-shaped, anterior margin rounded, beyond which extends a fleshy labium. Palpi biarticulate, basal joint slender and clavate, 2d rather longer, robust, pilose (5). Trophi deflexed (If) forming a rostrum beneath the head which is oval, the crown elevated in front with a short horn on each side the face sloping inward to the clypeus. Eyes lateral small and oval. Ocelli 3, placed on the fore part of the crown of the head, very large ( I *, underside of the head of a female, 1! the same in profile) . Neck distinct. Thorax broader than the head, elongate-ovate, the sutures very strongly marked: squamulae very large and covering the base of the superior wings. Scutellum emarginate at the apex the angles acute. Petiolus robust and fluted. Abdomen elongate-ovate rather conical at the apex in the female, basal joint with a deep channel at the base and covering the whole body, excepting the apex. Wings iridescent, pubescent and ciliated, superior very large, narrow at the base, rounded at the apex, with a short subcostal nervure, a transverse curved callous nervure near the base and several nervures indicated only, and no cells : inferior wings small and narrow. Legs rather short and slender : coxae long : thighs short and incrassated : tibiae, anterior very slender at the base and robust at the apex, producing a long curved and acute spine, dilated below the apex : tarsi 5-jointed, basal joint long, curved at the base and beautifully pectinated in the anterior pair, terminal joint shorter than the basal one: claws acute: pulvilli membranous (8, afore leg).

fuscipennis Curtis's Guide, Gen. 570. No. 1. In the Cabinets of Mr. Walker and the Author.

Galesus is characterized by the peculiar form of the antennae, and by the remarkable head and distinct petiole ; and it may be observed that the Psili of Jurine, which are the Diapriae of Latreille, vary from our genus in having the third joint of the antennse long. In dissecting this insect, the curious scales which cover the base of the superior wings attracted my notice; they are thin and moveable, and may be used in closing the large wings, which for want of strong nervures, probably require their assistance. The dilated spine at the apex of the anterior tibiae, and the beautiful pectinated basal joint at the tarsi, although common in the Hymenoptera, are seldom more developed. I have now little doubt that they are for the purpose of cleaning the antennae ; few insects are without a spine to the anterior tibiae, and the basal joint of their tarsi is generally hollowed out inside, if it be not always pectinated in this order.

Three species only have been discovered ; Mr. Haliday thinks the third may be a small variety of the second. 1. G. fuscipennis Curtis Brit. Ent. pl. 341. male. Smooth, black and shining, partially covered with yellowish pubescence : antennae as long as the wings in the male, with the fourth and following joints elongated: eyes castaneous: ocelli pale : scutellum rugose : petiole with five very elevated longitudinal lines: wings pale, fuscous, yellowish towards the base, superior, with two white, and two or three brownish longitudinal lines on each ; a callous spot below the apex of the subcostal nervure, and the curved one near the base, yellowish brown : base of thighs, tibiae, and tarsi castaneous, the hinder tibiae with a dark spot below the middle and the tips of the tarsi black. The male figured I took in Norfolk many years since, and Mr. F. Walker finds it amongst grass in woods near Southgate, in June and July. 2. G. cornutus Panz. 83. 11. female. Antennae shorter than the wings in the male, having the fourth and following joints subovate, excepting the apical one (f. 1.): wings very pale, yellowish-luscous: petiole with five faint elevated lines : base and tips of the thighs castaneous, all the tibiae blackish in the middle, the hinder pair and the tarsi castaneous only at the base. Males taken in February and April, in shady places ; and females beginning of July, on the sea-shore at Holywood, by Mr. Haliday. 3. G. claviger Hal. MSS. Curtis's Guide, No. 3. Length three quarters of a line and one and a quarter. Male undiscovered : females very similar to the last, with which they were taken by Mr. Haliday.

Belyta and Cinetus are so much connected, and the females are so similar, that until we have the sexes of the different species it will be difficult to determine whether the genera ought to be separated or united. Jurine distinguishes Cinetus by the triangular costal cell, and the antennae of the males are 14-jointed, those of the females 15-jointed. Since the plate was engraved I have availed myself of Mr. Haliday's papers, and I have scarcely any doubt that the fig. 1 a, belongs to Jurine's genus Belyta; I have therefore not incorporated the characters of this sex in the generic description, but I strongly suspect some of the females have antennae very similar to the figure above alluded to. The following species have been already detected in Britain, although only one has ever been recorded, except in the Guide, and there is no figure of the genus, I believe, in any work, British or foreign. 1. C. rubecula Hal.—Curt. Guide, Gen. 573. 1. 2. C. bicornis Ste. 2b C. armatus Hal. Male 1 and 2/3 line long; black, shining and slightly pilose, tip of the 1st and base of the 2nd joint of antennae castaneous, angles of postscutellum very acuminate. Wings fuscous, nervures piceous. Legs ferruginous, base of coxee, middle of thighs and of 4 anterior tibiae and tarsi at the apex piceous. 3. C. gracilis Curt. 2 and 1/4 line long : similar to No. 2 but more slender ,the 3rd joint of antennae is strongly sinuated, the base of abdomen castaneous, the legs are entirely ochreous and the open stigma is elongated. June, Bexley, Kent. 4. C. gracilipes Curt. 2 and 1/4 lines long : black shining ; peduncle slender, as long as the abdomen : wings slightly yellow, nervures ochreous, antennae and legs ferruginous ochre, the former fuscous at the apex, posterior thighs castaneous. 5. C. fuliginosus Curt.1 and 1/2 line long : similar to No. 4; the abdomen much narrower, and oval. Wings dusky, nervures piceous. 6. C. Cantianus Curt. 1 line long : black, shining : wings transparent, the open stigma elongated : legs ferruginous brown, antennae castaneous at the base, submoniliform in the female. 7. C. Vigil Hal. 8. C. maurus Hal. 9. C. Numida Hal. 10, C. nigripennis Hal. April, Holywood. 12. C. ruficornis Curt. Female 1 and 1/2 line long: robust, black and shining, angles of postscutellum produced ; peduncle short and thick:wings yellow, the open stigma elongated, nervures piceous : antennaeand legs rufous ochre, the former moniliform. 13. C. maculatus Hal. 14. C. dorsiger Hal.Brit. Ent.pl. 380. The male figured was taken on an oak by A. H. Haliday, Esq. in the county of Galway, Ireland. 17. C. Cursor Curt. Female. Similar to No. 12. in size and colour, but having very short and imperfect wings ; the base and tip of the abdomen are ferruginous. 18. C, Mirmillo Hal. 19. C. dryinoides Hal. 20. C. astutus Hal. No. 11. (bicolor Jur.) of the Guide, and probably 14, 15, and 16, ought to be arranged under Belyta.

Folio 744 [Proctotrupes areolator]

Order Hymenoptera. Fam. Proctotrupidae. Type of the Genus, Ichneumon gravidator Linn. Proctotrupes Lat., Hal., Curt.Codrus Jur. Esen.Bassus Fab. Antennae inserted in the middle of the face, remote, not so long as the body, filiform, or slightly thickened towards the apex, pubescent, 13-jointed, basal joint elongate-ovate, stout, 2nd small, cup-shaped, 3rd the longest, the remainder gradually decreasing in length, the apical joint a little longer than the penultimate, the apex somewhat conical (1). Labrum transverse, semiovate, hairy (2). Mandibles rather slender, slightly curved, not very acute (3). Maxilla terminating in a short irregular hairy divided lobe, dilated externally. Palpi 5-jointed? longish and hairy, basal joint short, indistinctly articulated, 2nd long stout and clavate, 3rd similar but a little longer, 4th the longest clavate, slenderer than the preceding, 5th rather shorter and attenuated (4). Mentum oblong, rounded at the base. Labium very short and rounded. Palpi moderate, hairy, clavate, triarticulate, basal joint longish, 2nd short, 3rd stout, elongate-obovate (5). Head short and broad, face suborbicular : eyes lateral prominent and oval : ocelli 3 in triangle. Thorax narrower than the head and very long : collar compressed : scutel semiglobose : metathorax long narrow and rounded behind. Wings pubescent, iridescent : superior with a large stigma and a very small m.arginal areolet, or a somewhat triangular cell ; costal and subcostal nervures parallel, a discoidal cell and 2 longitudinal nervures are also faintly traced (9) ; inferior wings nerveless. Abdomen as long as the thorax and a little thicker, attached by a short thick petiole, 6-jointed, ovateconic, the apex furnished with 2 short appendages in the male, attenuated in the female ; ovipositor considerably shorter than the body, incurved (7) composed of 2 strong sheaths, ciliated and slightly hooked at the apex (a), inclosing a slender lanceolate sheath {b), which contains 2 valves (c), that are curved and pointed, and these are confined by the apex of the sheath which forms a cap, into which they fit, besides these there is a long broader membranous filament with a rib in the centre (m). Legs rather slender, hinder long : coxae, hinder with a spur at the internal apex : thighs slightly clavate

tibiae simple, spurred at the apex : tarsi long slender and 5-

jointed, basal joint the longest and stoutest, 4th not much shorter than the 5th : claws rather long and slender : pulvilli distinct. Areolator Hal.—Curt. Guide, Gen. 575, no. 6.—ephippium no. 17, Shining piceous-black, disc of thorax and scutel rufous : metathorax clothed with pale hairs, rugose, with a ridge down the middle : petiole short, dilated towards the apex, striated as well as the base of the following segment ; ovipositor incurved, half as long as the abdomen, ferruginous ; antennae much shorter than the body, brown, 4 or 5 of the basal joints ochreous : wings yellowish, a little fuscous towards the apex, costal nervures and stigma piceous, marginal areolet elongate-trigonate, the other nervures faint ; legs ferruginous-ochre, tips of tarsi fuscous.

It was the opinion of Latreille and Esenbeck that Proctotrupes is allied to Helorus (pl. 403), and Mr. Haliday considers that it connects Diapria (Psilus) and Ceraphron (pl. 249). I must confess I expected to find it related to Cynips, and being unable to enter upon its affinities, I shall pass on to an examination of the ovipositor, which offers some peculiar characters. In the Ichneumonidae this organ is either porrected or elevated, but in Proctotrupes it is deflexed. Like that family, however, it has 2 sheaths inclosing a compound oviduct composed of 3 pieces, as shown in Pimpla (pl. 214. f. 6), but in Proctotrupes these are acuminated, and the lateral ones have their points securely fixed in the central one, the apex of which forms a cap for them : the most remarkable part of the structure, however, is an additional valve a little longer than any of the others, rather broad and membranous, with a thickened rib down the middle, the apex rounded (fig. m.) never having seen more than 5 pieces in any ovipositor including the sheaths, I cannot at present determine its functions. I rejoice to see that Mr. Haliday has commenced publishing Monographs on the Oxyuri, as they will enable those engaged in the study of these minute Hymenoptera to derive every advantage from his elaborate investigations. The following sections and species form his 1st fasciculus.

Order Hymenoptera. Fam. Proctotrupidae Nob.. Oxyuri Lat.. Type of the Genus Dryinus formicarius Lat. Dryinus Lat., Leach.—Gonatopus Klug. Antennae remote, slightly geniculated and clavate, pilose, inserted between the eyes at the base of the nasus, 10-jointed, basal joint long, subclavate, 4 following increasing in diameter, the 3d joint being a little the longest, 5th the shortest, the 6th and remainder turbinate, robust, of equal length, excepting the terminal joint which is conical and longer (1). Labrum undetected. Mandibles remote, quadridentate, externally pilose (3). Maxillae small, terminated by a pilose lobe, scarcely cleft. Palpi very long and slender, 6-jointed, basal joint small, 2d twice as large, the remainder nearly of equal length, being rather long slender and pilose (4). Mentum long, dilated anteriorly. Labium very small, concealed. Palpi remote, short, triarticulate, basal joint short, 2nd the largest, 3rd not larger than the 1st, rhomboidal (5), Head subtrigonate. Eyes large. Ocelli 3, in triangle. Thorax not broader than the head, the prothorax sometimes elongated. Abdomen not larger than the thorax, peduncled, conical and acuminated. Wings iridescent, pubescent, superior with a costal and marginal cell, the nervure of the latter from the angle sometimes indistinct, 2 nervures running from the base to the apex intersected transversely before the middle ,stigma large, inferior wings nerveless, lobed at the base (9). Legs long. Thighs incrassated, especially the anterior in some and attenuated to the apex. Tibiae spurred, anterior short. Tarsi long 5 -jointed, anterior with the basal and terminal joints long of equal length, the latter being robust, producing at the base a horny lobe, the analogue of a 2d claw, extending to the 2d joint, the 3 intermediate small (8) .- basal joint the longest in the other feet. Claws ; anterior feet with one only, which is very long, reflexed and slightly produced towards the base. Pulvilli porrected and very long (8) ; the other feet with 2 small claws very much dilated at the base and a large Pulvillus (8 b, hind foot). Obs. The above description is from D. Cursor, the following from D. bicolor. Apterous like a neuter ant. Head very large. Ocelli very minute. Thorax very long slender, binodate. Abdomen 6- jointed (6), Tibiae, anterior long, the Tarsi 4-jointed, basal and terminal joints long, intermediate very short. Claws 2, very long and unequal, spined internally. Pulvilli large (8 a fore foot).

Nature, ever fertile in her resources, having dispensed with one claw in the anterior feet of the males (at least in the species of which there were duplicates to examine),—to supply the deficiency, has produced the base of the terminal joint exactly as if a second claw was bent back as in the apterous sex, and soldered to that joint ; it would appear therefore that the means of capturing their prey are curtailed ; but the power to retain it is probably increased. Like the genus Proctotrupes, the abdomens are acuminated, which give them all the appearance of females. The following species (with the exception of the first and last) were taken by Mr. Haliday in Downshire near the Bay of Belfast, " on grass in open groves and the adjacent meadows, from the 4th of June to the middle of August. " When in the net they ran with uncommon activity, the chelate ungues remaining reflected on the tarsus." A. Prothorax elongated. 1. D. formicarius Lat. H. N. 13. 228.—Gen. Crust. 1. 12. f 6. —The female has been taken I believe at Ripley, Surrey, in Aug. B. Prothorax short. 1. Legs of nearly equal size. 2. D. Cursor Brit. Ent. pl. 206. 3. D. rapax Hal. MSS.—The size of D. Cursor. Black, shining, antennae and legs ferruginous-ochre, the former long and black in the middle, the apex of the posterior thighs as well as of the intermediate and posterior tarsi black ; stigma and nervures ochreous. 4. lucidus Hal. MSS.—Smaller than the last; black shining; antennae not longer than the thorax, fuscous except at the base, which is ochreous, as well as the legs, the posterior thighs fuscous at their apex ; nerves of the wings very obscure. 2. Anterior legs incrassated. 5. D. crassimanus Hal. MSS.—Like D. rapax, but more robust, the antennae shorter. 6. D. fulviventris Hal. MSS.The size of D. lucidus; black, abdomen fuscous-ochre, black at the base, and a dark spot towards the apex ; antennae and legs yellowish piceous, apex of the former ochreous, the posterior thighs dark at their tips, 4 posterior tarsi and stigma dirty yellowish white. 7. D. bicolor Hal. MSS.—Apterous, black, prothorax pale and dirty ochre, anterior margin brown ; antennae at their base and legs pale ochreous fuscous, anterior thighs at their base, middle thighs beneath, a stripe on the anterior tibiae and the apex of the 4 posterior tarsi piceous. Taken in moss on a bank in Ireland, April 1826. I cannot conclude without acknowledging my obligations to Mr. Haliday for the handsome manner in which he has allowed me to be the medium of communicating his valuable researches, as well as for his liberality in supplying me with specimens to illustrate this remarkable genus. Folio 720 [Bethylus fulvicornis]

I must confess that after great pains I am unable to satisfy myself as to the affinities of Bethylus, but I believe it to be most nearly allied to Ceraphron, fol. 249. Latreille places it amongst his Proctotrupii in the Gen. Crust., and says the antennas are 13-jointed in both sexes, that the maxillary palpi are 6-jointed, and the labial 3- or 4-jointed ; in his Fam. Nat. he includes it in his tribe Oxyuri, under the same section as Dryinus. Nees ab Essenbeck says the antennae are 14-jointed in the males, that the maxillary palpi are 6- and the labial 4- jointed. Jurine considers the antennae to be 13-jointed in one sex and 12-jointed in the other. Now it is very remarkable that none of my specimens agree with any of the above characters, the antennas being all 12-jointed, and the palpi 5- and 2- jointed; how these incongruities are to be reconciled I know not. There are as great differences of opinion respecting the species ; for whilst some describe several, others view them as mere varieties : from the different situations in which I have found them, and from the variety of colour in their antennae and legs, I shall distinguish them as species. Mr. Haliday has ascertained that the Bethyli secrete the larvae of Lepidoptera in broken reeds which occur on sand-hills, for the purpose, it is presumed, of supporting their larvae. The perfect insects are much attached to Syngenesious flowers, sallows, roses, grasses, &c. 1 must not omit to observe, that Epyris cannot be included with the Bethyli. 1. cenopterus Panz. 81. 14. " Base of antennae and legs fuscous- testaceous: wings opake, somewhat nerveless : 1 line." 2. punctatus Lat. Hist. Nat, 13. 229. " Second and a few following joints of antennae, and apex of tibiae and tarsi fulvous: superior wings obscure, with a fine white nervure trifid at its extremity. April,off rushes on the beach at Covehithe, Suffolk : June,off a hedge near Windsor, and in Yorkshire. 3. fuscicornis Jur. tab. 13, Gen. 43. Black, flagellum of antennae, tibiae, and tarsi testaceous: I and 3/4 to 2 lines. Off bushes Coomb Wood and Shooter's Hill in June. 4. fulvicornis Curt.B. E. pl. 720. Black, shining : very minutely shagreened, with a few scattered punctures, excepting the abdomen, which is very glossy, with a slight chalybeous tinge : head with an elevated longitudinal ridge between the antennae, which are bright ochreous, as well as the mandibles : superior wings yellowish, with a large yellowish- brown space beyond the middle, through which runs a white line, nervures and stigma brown, 2 basal cells perfect: inferior wings iridescent: legs ochreous, anterior thighs with a brown patch above, the others piceous as well as their tibiae, excepting the base and apex ; tips of tarsi and claws brown. August, on sand-hills. Sandwich, on the coarse grass, and in pits not uncommon. 5. formicarius Panz. 97. IG. " Black, middle of antennae, tibiae, and tarsi pale, stigma obsolete : 1 and 1/2 line." August, Scotland. 6. Syngenesiae Hal. Wings short.

Folio 317 [Spaasion frontale]

Sparasjon was unknown as a British insect until I had the good fortune to capture a specimen at Black Gang Chine in the Isle of Wight, the 16th of August 1828, but I have never been able to meet with it there since. The 12-jointed antennae, and the minute 2nd joint of the maxillary palpi, are sufficient to distinguish Sparasion from Ceraphron, to which it is closely allied on the one hand ; but whether it be so nearly related to Bethylus on the other, I am not able at present to determine. The membranous appendage also to the maxilla?, ciliated along its concave margin, I have never observed in any other insect that I have dissected. I shall here take the opportunity of observing, that with very few exceptions, I shall limit myself to the illustration of those genera of the minute Hymenoptera which have been established by Latreille, so that a very considerable number of those recorded in my " Guide" will not be published in this work; by which means the Student will be put in possession of the leading characters, to enable him to extend his investigations further if he chooses, and this work will not be carried to an inconvenient length. I beg however to acknowledge my obligations to my esteemed friends Mr. Haliday and Mr. F. Walker for their generous and valuable assistance and I hope they will be induced to give naturalists the benefit of their researches in the two families they have so successfully studied, by publishing the characters of the genera and species of these minute but beautiful tribes, of which Mr. Haliday has made most admirable dissections, and Mr. Walker has formed a collection embracing at least 700 British species. The minute Hymenoptera are best collected by beating into, and sweeping with, a net made of fine gauze, and Mr. Haliday recommends me to collect them into quills, and afterwards to empty their contents into hot water, by which means their wings are naturally expanded ; then by introducing a card under them to take them out of the water, arranging the legs and wings when necessary with a camel's hair pencil, and leaving them upon the card till they are dry, they may afterwards be taken off with a penknife, and gummed upon the points of small pieces of drawing- or card-paper of a long triangular form.

Folio 249 [Ceraphron Halidayi] Order Hymenoptera. Fam. Proctotrupidae Nob.Oxyuri Lat. Type of the Genus Ceraphron sulcatus Jur. Ceraphron Jur., Spin., Lat., Leach. Antenna inserted near to the mouth, longer in the male than female, geniculated, 11 -jointed in both sexes, pubescent, and attenuated in the male, the basal joint the most robust, not so long as the 3rd, 2nd very small, 3rd the longest, the remainder slightly decreasing in length to the last (1) ; filiform or subclavate in the females, the basal joint the longest, 2nd as long as the 4th, the 3rd long, the remainder slightly decreasing in length to the last, which is elongate-oval (1, a). Labrum undetected. Mandibles slender, bent, bifid and slightly pilose (3). Maxillae short, membranous, horny only on the outside, terminated by a broad rounded lobe. Palpi very long and exserted, 5-jointed, 3 first joints nearly of equal length, the 1st slender, 2nd and 3rd dilated, subovate, 4th and 5th very slender, the former nearly as long as the latter which is the longest (4). Mentum elongated, horny, the angles emarginate to receive the Palpi, which are not longer than the lip, clavate and apparently triarticulate, the 2 first joints very minute, the 3rd ovate, pilose. Lip large rounded and pubescent (5). Head suborbicular, frequently depressed. Eyes remote. Ocelli 3, Thorax ovate or oblong ; prothorax transverse and not suddenly nar' rowed. Scutellum, elongate-conic ; postscutellum sometimes toothed in the centre. Abdomen attached by a broad and very short peduncle, ovate-conic, composed of 7 joints, the 1st striated at the base and frequently covering more than half the body. Wings pubescent, anterior with a thickened costal nervure, terminated {in the type) by a large stigma, producing a curved branch. Thighs sometimes a little thickened. Tibiae spurred. Tarsi 5-jointed, the basal joint long. Claws and Pulvilli distinct (8, a fore leg). Obs. The dissections are taken from a male of C. Dux, nob., excepting fg. 1, a, which is the female antenna of the same species

Halidayi Nob. Male black, shining. Antennae as long as the wings, 11 -jointed, basal joint large ochreous, 2nd globose, the 4 following producing each, a long clavate branch pilose at the apex, the 3rd and 4th joints very short, 5th and 6th longer, 7th the longest, slightly branched at the apex, the remainder more robust, subovate, the 8th being slightly produced on the internal side, the 11th elongate ovate. Head transverse, large, punctured. Eyes large remote. Ocelli distinct. Thorax punctured, with 3 lines on the back meeting at the scutellum. Abdomen very smooth and shining, tinged with ochre and slightly furrowed at the base. Wings hyaline, iridescent, pilose, basal half of the costa thickened, the stigma large semiorbicular, producing a curved branch, all fuscous. Legs ochraceous ; thighs, middle pair fuscous above ; posterior pair of legs fuscous. Female unknown. In the Cabinet of Mr. Haliday.

So little are these minuter Hymenoptera understood, that this genus has never been recorded even as British ; and it is remarkable that only one species has ever been described by continental writers. I have now seen upwards of sixty species taken by Mr. Haliday, Mr. F. Walker, and myself. It is evident that they do not vary in figure and character less amongst themselves, than they do from the typical form, as will be shown by the following divisions with which Mr. Haliday has kindly furnished me. The insect dissected I preferred to the type, not only because it is the largest of the genus, but from my being acquainted with the sexes. Div. 1. Antennas 11-jointed; wings with the stigma subtrigonate or suborbicular. The Antennae shorter, the scape longer and the apex incrassated in the females. 1. C. Dux Nob. Length two lines, breadth three. Black, shining, base of tibiae and tarsi ferruginous. Superior wings with a fuscous cloud. Mr. Haliday, Ireland. 2. opacus Hal. MSS. Mr. Haliday, Ireland. 3. cimicoides Hal. MSS. m. Sept. Holywood, Downshire. 4. rufiscapus Nob. Norfolk. 5. rufipes Nob. Norfolk. 6. nitidus Nob. Mr. Walker. 7. sulcatus Jur.pl.l4f. 24th July,pales,Hampstead Heath. 8. puliciformis Nob. 9. crispus Hal. MSS. Aug. Holywood. 10. Carpenteri Nob. Black, head and thorax pubescent, body shining; apex of thighs, tibiae and tarsi ochreous. Antennae in the male similar to those of the same sex in Eurytoma abrotani. I have the pleasure of naming this curious insect after Thomas Carpenter, Esq. who bred it from female Aphides. 11. elegans Nob.. Mr. Walker. 1 2. Halidayi Nob. pl. 249. This beautiful little insect I have dedicated to A. H. Haliday, Esq. a zealous advocate of Entomology, whose knowledge of these beautiful tribes is only equalled by the liberality with which it is imparted to others for the advancement of science. It was taken the 8th of Aug. near Holywood. 13. gracilis Nob. Mr. Haliday. Div. 2. Apterous. 14. C. ruficollis Hal. MSS. May, Kensington Gardens. 15. Rubi Nob. e. Aug. upon bramble leaves, near Heron Court, Hants. 16. melanocephalus Hal. MSS. June, Oct. Shady groves. Div. 3. Wings with a linear branch, but no stigma. 1 7. longipennis Nob. Mr. Haliday and Mr. Walker. Div. 4. Antennae 10-jointed. 18. C. ferrugineus Hal. MSS. July 8, Holywood. 19. discolor Hal. MSS. Aug. Sept. Holywood. 20. nubilipennis Nob. Mr. Walker and Mr. Haliday.